Ring Of Honor – The Best Of ROH on HDNet – Volume 3
The same applies as with my previous ‘Best Of ROH on HDNet’ reviews. I’m reviewing all the episodes separately, but want to support Ring Of Honor as best I can, so am digging into my pockets and purchasing these compilation DVD’s as well. In truth, whether you’ve seen the TV show or not, at $15 a pop these are terrific value and bringing all the choice cuts from the show without having to sit through multiple squashes or mediocre Necro Butcher matches anyway. As ever, I don’t know if there are any edits or additional materials not broadcast on the original episode. All the action comes from Philadelphia, PA with Dave Prazak and Mike Hogewood on commentary. These matches come from Episodes 020-030, and during this period DP and Hog actually started to gel as an announce team, which really helps the overall presentation of the product.
Davey Richards vs El Generico (Episode 020)
When Generico and Kevin Steen won a recent tag match at End Of An Age, they set up the opportunity to get one more rematch with the American Wolves, in any kind of stipulation they choose. We’re still to learn exactly what those will be, but this match kick starts the countdown to it. The Generic Luchador and Mr Wrestling are desperate to win back the belts they lost to Richards and Edwards on Episode 011 of ROH on HDNet. Which man will deliver a resounding message this one?
Davey has Shane Hagadorn, Sara Del Rey and Eddie Edwards in his corner, so naturally Generico bring Kevin Steen with him. YAKUZA KICK and a Blue Thunder Driver straight out of the gate from him sends Davey crawling into the crowd to find an escape. BACK SUPLEX OVER THE TOP ROPE! RUNNING SOMERSAULT PLANCHA ON BOTH WOLVES! Desperate to establish himself, Richards tries to go for the Texas Cloverleaf, attacking El Generico’s problem knee to gain a foothold. Eddie and Shane Hagadorn start choking him behind the official’s back. Snap suplex scores, but the Flying Wolverine doesn’t and gives Generico a route back into the match. HE DIVES THROUGH THE BUCKLES INTO A TORNADO DDT ON THE FLOOR! Love that spot! But Richards blocks a second Yakuza Kick to hit a big dragon screw. Immediately El Generico starts struggling to even walk on the leg, and falls victim to a quick Alarm Clock/German suplex sequence. Texas Cloverleaf applied mid-ring to do yet more damage. EXPLODER INTO THE TURNBUCKLES! Generico clutches the leg, then delivers the Yakuza Kick. He lines up the Turnbuckle Brainbuster, only for Edwards to make the save, shortly followed by Steen to force a no contest at 09:44
Rating - *** - Fun little match, and a nice instalment in the feud, but the finish makes it impossible to go any higher. Generico busting out a few big time spots made this one feel a lot more important than it had any right to be. I love these guys so even in a brief bout I thought they produced the goods
Kevin Steen is in the ring seconds later to start brawling with Edwards. Jobbers arrive to pull the two teams apart but there’s not enough manpower and the fight continues. GENERICO SPARKS OUT DEL REY! He and Edwards really start laying into each other in the crowd after that. I physically laugh out loud as the camera pans to Shane Hagadorn randomly attacking a referee. There’s a reprise of an old Sweet’n’Sour Inc. relationship as Sara Del Rey swings for Bobby Dempsey in the mayhem. Annoying camera work seems to miss most of the crowd brawling, but when it’s all said and done Kevin Steen and El Generico stand alone in the ring to posture with the Tag straps.
Nigel McGuinness vs Tyler Black (Episode 021)
I believe this is Nigel’s first match on HDNet since the initial set of tapings. He’s been making his presence felt on the show for weeks though, causing trouble and ‘stirring the pot’ in the World Title picture. Two weeks ago he told Tyler Black straight up that he thinks he doesn’t have what it takes to deliver in the big match – words that distracted Black for long enough to allow ROH Champion Austin Aries to level him with the title belt. If Tyler, having beaten American Dragon, now wants to go and prove himself a top contender to A-Double, he’ll need to be able to beat the former World Champ here.
Interesting start from Nigel, totally changing his game and trying to throw kicks in Black’s direction for the first minute. Nothing doing there, so he goes back to old faithful and starts to work Tyler’s arm. It seems like his words have had a clear effect on Black, who struggles to gain a foothold in the match. Even when he manages to drive McGuinness to the outside, the former World Champion walks away to stop him being able to score with a trademark running dive. Black changes his own game now, opting to ground Nigel and start working body parts – first stretching the arm then picking apart the leg moments later. Hammerlock DDT out of nowhere by Nigel to put a stop to that and allow him to start working Tyler’s arm once again. That Arm Submission makes a rare appearance on television! Bridging chickenwing next, Black now being physically and mentally beaten down. Tower Of London blocked though. Black dropkicks his way free to score with a SOMERSAULT PLANCHA OVER THE ROPES! GUARDRAIL MOONSAULT SCORES TOO! Springboard Lariat (with arm selling) gets 2, but Nigel wisely small packages out of a God’s Last Gift attempt. Tower Of London COUNTERED to Peroxism. But, having hit in the outside, Black misses a Lionsault inside the ring and nearly gets trapped in the London Dungeon as a result. Super McLariat misses…as does Black’s springboard variant. Jawbreaker Lariat countered…Buckle Bomb countered…LONDON DUNGEON! Black fights it. Tower Of London nailed, but such is the state of his fatigue that McGuinness doesn’t manage a cover. Jawbreaker Lariat COUNTERED TO GOD’S LAST GIFT! Black wins at 16:48
Rating - **** - This was probably ***1/2 rather than 4*, but I’m feeling the need to be generous. It was better than the Full Circle encounter on the first show of ’09, and for free TV, this was really high quality stuff. I enjoyed the story telling aspect, with Nigel’s mind games and arm work basically killing Tyler’s usual game plan of high octane offensive moves. Black was only on offence for very brief periods of the match, but in the end he got to show his resilience, staying power and ability to deliver in a big match by taking some of Nigel’s best work, evading his trademark finisher and delivering his own knock out punch to snatch a win. Negatives would be that this was worked at a very slow pace – with McGuinness noticeably feeling his way back into things after his long injury absence. I’m not sure this was the right call for the first Monday night main event either. I loved the match, but then, I’m an ROH fan and I like this style of wrestling. I don’t feel this sort of thing will hook in casual Raw viewers flicking through the channels as they wait for Vince’s flagship show to start. When the Respect Is Earned debut ppv aired in 2007, the main event was an absolute stormer featuring Nigel, Bryan Danielson, KENTA and Takeshi Morishima. I had it down as an MOTYC and one of my favourite matches anywhere in that year. But, the majority of people watching that ppv came away talking about one match – the Briscoes defending the Tag straps against Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal in a balls to the wall spotfest. I just think something more exciting (the Briscoes, Young Bucks, KENTA and more were all booked for these tapings) would have allowed ROH to penetrate that casual fan market with greater effectiveness.
Austin Aries vs Roderick Strong (Episode 022)
Obviously the title isn’t on the line here. It is however, a rematch from Episode 007 (and Steel City Clash) earlier this year, when A-Double proved his World Title credentials in front of Ric Flair by defeating his former tag partner, co-Tag Champion and stable-mate in Generation Next. We already know that Roddy’s purpose here is to get himself into contention for a Championship match. Austin just wants to be the star of the show on HDNet – so winning major main events is top priority for him.
Purposeful start from Strong, repeatedly using his wrestling skill to take the World Champion off his feet. Austin responds with knee strikes and the Last Chancery, but Strong is basically already in the ropes so doesn’t sustain major damage. Roderick goes for the Stronghold in return, but again, Aries is quick to find a rope before anything serious is inflicted. But he tries a random, unnecessary cartwheel and walks straight into a signature Roderick Strong chop. More chops in the corner, every one delivered with such force that Aries drops to the mat in pain. To the floor where Roddy continues to go for chops, but trundles into a back body drop from Aries and takes a pretty rough landing. The champ thinks about a Brainbuster on the exposed concrete…so Strong drops him with a FRONT SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR! A-Double pushes him into the ringpost then heads upstairs for the MACHO MAN AXE HANDLE SMASH! Argentine backbreaker puts Austin down again for 2, but still not enough is done to allow Roderick to apply the Stronghold. Half Nelson Backbreaker countered to the crucifix driver gets Aries a 2. Running back rake scores for him at ten minutes, but he can’t hit the IED yet. Death By Roderick blocked by snapping his neck over the ropes though, doing some real damage to a body part affected by the Last Chancery and Brainbuster. If you were in any doubts that that was his intention, he drags his woozy opponent into a second rope neckbreaker. Chops bring Strong back into things and get a major response from the fans, and another backbreaker gets the Floridian a nearfall. Death By Roderick evaded again…HEAT SEEKING MISSILE NAILED! URINAGE BACKBREAKER FROM STRONG! Austin hits the Kick Of Death, but crumples to the canvas and takes ages to follow up. Impact Explosion Dropkick hit when he does…then the LAST CHANCERY! But Roderick doesn’t quit, meaning Austin has to get drastic and try to take it to the apron. That proves to be a mistake when Strong delivers a slingshot falcon arrow. Half Nelson Suplex blocked…DEATH BY RODERICK INSTEAD! SICK KICK! ARIES IN THE ROPES! HALF NELSON SUPLEX! But Austin rides the Stronghold and gets his feet on the ropes to pin Strong at 16:55
Rating - **** - I think I’ll get a few critical emails saying I’ve over-rating this, and maybe they’re right. However, in my opinion this was one of the better Aries/Strong singles matches. For all the chemistry they had as partners, their matches against each other have always been very good rather than amazing or outstanding. It was the same again here, but I felt like they got a lot closer to channelling the levels of babyface sympathy that Strong was able to draw during his 2005/6 quadrilogy with Bryan Danielson, which really helped maintain my interest. It wasn’t all money, but drawing audible pops and ‘this is awesome’ chants from the tough to please, badly mic’d HDNet Arena crowd suggests this was doing a good job. I’d rag hard on the cheap finish, but given the whole story of Roderick trying to prove himself, but Aries constantly having the wherewithal to counter his trademark spots, getting the crowd more and more fired up in the process, Austin going so far as to cheat to win was a logical finish and one that keeps Strong relatively creditable despite a third straight singles loss to A-Double in 2009.
Kenny King/Rhett Titus vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe (Episode 024)
We’re nearly quarter of the way through ROH on HDNet’s entire run…and finally we’ll get to see the Briscoes in tag team action for the first time. Mark has had to watch from the sidelines whilst his brother has competed in singles action, but made his comeback a couple of weeks ago. They have a tough match against the impressive young ANX duo.
Hot start from the Briscoes, forcing Titus and King to head to the floor and call for an early time out. Rhett sneaks back in to jump Jay, but quickly eats a boot to the face and lands flat on his back again. The Briscoes pull out a sweet double team curb stomp to further assault Titus. King doesn’t fare much better when he gets tagged either, taking a Legsweep/senton bomb combo from them for 2. Briscoe Biel sends Rhettski flying once again. But he comes in behind Mark, finally giving his team the advantage. Blindside Lariat puts the younger Briscoe down for a 2-count. Nice work from Titus too, knocking Jay off the apron then spinning round to knock Mark down again with a dropkick. Strong recovery from Mark too, hitting a northern lights suplex on Kenny…only for find his partner taken off the apron again by the resourceful Rhett Titus. Ace Crusher on King, and this time Mark does make the tag to his brother. Titus rakes his eyes though, hitting the ROPE RUN FACEBUSTER FOR 2! Doomsday Blockbuster blocked, but Kenny hits a swinging front slam on Jay instead. Mark in with a fisherman buster for 2. But Kenny lands on his feet as they try the Biel on him. Double superkick instead…DOOMSDAY DEVICE NAILED! Briscoes win at 12:02
Rating - *** - I think this match had a number of objectives, and they successfully pulled off every one of them. The ANX put in another solid outing against one of the ‘main event’ tag teams in ROH right now, once again proving they have a bright future in that division. The Briscoes put in a nice little performance on their return, looking impressive without blowing through all their major offence, so they still have plenty in the tank to surprise the HDNet audience in bigger matches to come. And, above all else, this was a fun little match. It wasn’t meant to steal the show, but they worked the standard tag formula well, hit everything clean and kept a difficult crowd into what they were doing too. Well done to all four guys…
Jerry Lynn vs Tyler Black (Episode 024)
These two have already contested two great matches this year. They shared a 20-minute draw back at Motor City Madness 2009, whilst Black picked up a big non-title win over Jerry at Contention in Manassas, VA. And Tyler is on a real hot streak right now. He finally got the dragon off his back when he scored a huge victory over Bryan Danielson, and followed it up in his next HDNet match by defeating another former World Champion in Nigel McGuinness. Lynn is aware that many were calling for him to retire after he lost the title to Aries. Looking to get back into the hunt and prove he’s still relevant in ROH, he is billing this match as one of the biggest he’s had in his entire career.
Respectful exchanges to kick off, with neither man able to establish dominance over the other in the first few minutes. Lynn counters some speed stuff from Black, and impressively throws it right back at him with a satellite headscissors and a crisp armdrag. Tyler absorbs the impact of those, recovering to stomp Jerry in the face. Black is in control for the first time, starting to work the back and midsection with constant knee strikes. He misses a second face stomp attempt though, then misses the Springboard Lariat. Mid-air crossbody collision leaves both men down – Jerry once again clutching his midsection in pain. Nigel McGuinness comes to ringside and encourages Black to keep his eye on the ball…which of course causes him to do the exact opposite. He attempts a Lionsault and flies into Lynn’s knees. Black Star Press does score and gets 2. God’s Last Gift blocked, so is Peroxism and Jerry drops him with an inverted DDT. Pele Kick drops Jerry again…only for the former World Champion to throw Black all the way over the ropes to the outside. SPRINGBOARD PLANCHA BY JERRY! All this is happening right in front of Nigel, who applauds both men. Hitting that move took more out of Lynn than Tyler it seems, and it’s Black that capitalises by slinging him into the guardrails. Springboard Lariat attempted again, but Lynn counters with his guillotine leg drop. Sunset flip bomb to the floor blocked…GUILLOTINE LEG DROP ON THE APRON from Black. Springboard Lariat connects third time of asking and gets 2. But he can’t connect with the Buckle Bomb as Jerry counters it with a hurricanrana. Sunset flip powerbomb out of the corner scores a close 2 for Lynn, and he follows up with the TKO for another nearfall. Cradle Piledriver COUNTERED with the F-5 though. Hog urges Tyler to keep his eye on the ball, and he looks to be doing so as he hits Peroxism and the Buckle Bomb. SUPERKICK SCORES! But Nigel puts Lynn’s foot on the ropes. Tyler gets distracted by yelling at McGuinness…and allows Lynn to small package him for 3 at 16:27
Rating - *** - These guys have good chemistry together, and a natural physical contrast given the age of both of them. However, this match fell well short of their previous efforts so I am a little disappointed. What’s odd is, both their house show matches this year have been full of effort, pace and excitement. This one felt slow, it felt like it was moving at such a conservative pace, and never really clicked into a higher gear. I didn’t like McGuinness’ interference either, although it does continue his HDNet trouble-maker gimmick, which has been the best thing about him since he lost the belt. Putting Lynn over Tyler doesn’t make much sense either. I get it that they’re playing up the ‘Black can’t win the big one’ angle…but the thing is, he’s already been losing the big one since spring 2008. After dispelling that reputation with big wins over Dragon and Nigel, it makes no sense to now go back to it by putting Lynn over him. No disrespect to Jerry, who I’ve supported in ROH far harder than many, but it’s plain crazy putting him over Black. At the start of 2008 Tyler was red hot and primed to be World Champion. Pearce stalled on that, and ended up with an injured champion and having to hotshot the belt onto Jerry Lynn. He’s had to spend the rest of the year to date building Tyler up…and I can’t believe that, having finally started to do that, he’s pushed him back down the ladder again here…
Dark City Fight Club vs Young Bucks (Episode 025)
Very hot way to start the show. At present there is an established trilogy of tag teams at the top of the division in ROH. You have the American Wolves as champions, with challengers/rivals/enemies the Briscoes Brothers and the Steen/Generico team leading the chasing pack. But behind that, there are teams like these two – who haven’t been in ROH for long, but have been exceptionally impressive during their short tenures here. The DCFC have mown down everyone in their path, and been particularly destructive on HDNet. Granted the Bucks were beaten in a spectacular debut by Steen and Generico at Contention, but since then have put some wins together and have thrilled audiences across the ROH circuit with their wild, high-flying antics. Which team gets the jump on the other in the hunt to climb the ranks?
Jon Davis starts with Nick, basically manhandling him, and effortlessly shaking off whatever offence Jackson mounts. Big powerslam puts Nick down for an easy 2-count. Chavis in, but he doesn’t have the same success, and is helpless as Nick holds his arm open for a MOONSAULT KICK to it from brother Matt. Rainman isn’t phased though, shaking it off to run down both Bucks with a double clothesline. Leg lariat/spinebuster combo get the DCFC another nearfall. The big men start to isolate Matt in the ring. Finally Matt hits a springboard somersault Ace crusher and makes the hot tag to Nick. Springboard splash/standing moonsault combo gets the Bucks a nearfall of their own…but Davis gets up for POOOOUUUUUNCE Nick in brutal fashion. Matt comes to his brother’s aid, and they line up More Bang For Your Buck on Chavis. Jon saves though, allowing Rainman to hit a big swinging front slam on Nick. TOP ROPE SUNSET FLIP…Nick Jackson pins Kory Chavis at 07:42
Rating - *** - Energetic opening match between two teams who we need to start seeing more of on the DVD shows. The coming together of speed guys and power guys is an age-old formula in pro-wrestling, and all four of these guys did an effective job in using that tried and tested strategy. DCFC were on the ball with their power moves and intimidations, whilst the Bucks were great as plucky underdogs with some impressive athleticism and double teams. They had a fine match here without taking anything off the huge Briscoes vs Steen-erico main event.
Kevin Steen/El Generico vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe (Episode 025)
Both teams have mentioned their history with each other. They engaged in a memorable and absolutely chaotic feud for most of 2007, culminating in the epic Ladder War at the Man Up ppv. They even briefly rekindled the rivalry late in 2008 when Steen and Generico chalked up two successful defences of their Tag Titles at Bound By Hate and Rising Above. Earlier this year it seemed like the two sides had become allies in the fight against the American Wolves – with Steen and Jay actually forming a tag team on a few occasions when their partners were out injured. However, after the Steen/Jay team lost a Tag Title shot to the Wolves, they imploded and their makeshift team subsequently dissolved. Last week they had a tense stand-off, joining forces to beat up the Tag Champs, then facing off with each other. The winner here emerges as the clear next in line to get a shot at Davey and Eddie.
The tension we saw last week is very much present once again as Mark and Steen square off. Briscoe gets the better of that exchange, so Generico makes a tag and goes nuts with some armdrags on him. Jay in, powering him to the mat and demanding Mr Wrestling return. Slaps, snot-rockets and gum spitting between those two, leaving the HDNet in little audience as to how much they dislike each other. Mark tries to match power with Steen, fails and eats a big suplex. But in return Steen and Generico fail to out-double team the Briscoes…with Jay and Mark dropping the luchador with a double football tackle. Steen helps out by dropping Jay with a DDT. Hog compares Steen and Generico, then he and Dave Prazak to married couples…then asks to take Prazak to the ring and ‘show him something’. Which sounds pretty odd in my opinion. Jay viciously drives Generico into the turnbuckles to give his team the advantage – a position Mark solidifies with a spinebuster. STEREO CORNER JUMP SOMERSAULT PLANCHAS BY MARK AND GENERICO! Those dives were amazingly quick, and they leave Generico alone to hit the Michinoku Driver on Mark. But Briscoe blocks the Yakuza with a big superkick and both men are now desperate for tags. Steen and Jay in to punch the sh*t out of each other. YAKUZA KICK FROM NOWHERE! URINAGE BY MARK! POWERBOMB BY STEEN! ALL FOUR DOWN! Steen is first up to hit a Codebreaker on Jay…STEEN-TON GETS KNEES! Generico takes an Ace Crusher from Mark…as Jay hoists Kevin up for a DEATH VALLEY DRIVER ON THE APRON! POWERBOMB NECKBREAKER on Generico for 2. The Briscoes want the Doomsday Device but Steen saves his partner…allowing him to EXPLODER SUPLEX Jay into the turnbuckles. Cannonball senton…Generico up for the SOMERSAULT VAN TERMINATOR! Steen lines up the Package Piledriver, but the American Wolves run in to force a no contest at 12:42
Rating - **** - The Briscoes are back. The Steen-erico/Wolves feud has been tearing it up all year, but throwing Jay and Mark back into the mix has totally changed things once again. Like I said a few weeks ago, even if they’re not the most psychologically complex matches, a trademark Briscoe spot onslaught like this one is an amazing watch, and something that ROH should be using front and centre to get their product over. This was another terrific match between these four. It started slow, but the hatred between them festered, and built, and finally exploded into a violent war. He non-finish was disappointing, but we’ve seen lots of clean finishes between these two teams so I’m not too upset. By ending it this way it keeps both guys over as future challengers, and opens the way for more rematches somewhere down the line if needs be.
Chris Hero/Davey Richards/Eddie Edwards vs Bryan Danielson/Roderick Strong/KENTA (Episode 026)
Lots of history between these three men. Obviously Roddy isn’t a big Davey fan after it was Richards who broke up the No Remorse Corps. As we say in Dayton this past weekend, Dragon and Hero have certainly got some physical exchanges within them. Bryan will also be desperate to pick up a win over the Wolves after losing two Tag Title matches to them when teaming with Tyler Black. And there’s also the small matter of KENTA, teaming with Danielson, a man with whom he’s had two epic Ring Of Honor battles in the past, and opposing his former American protégé in Richards.
Danielson and Hero go hold for hold and wind up pretty even. Strong in next to put the boots to Edwards, before he summons KENTA in as well to allow all three men to beat on Eddie with a European uppercut/chop/kick trilogy of strikes. Richards tagged and he sweeps Dragon into a cross armbreaker, which Danielson breaks and leads into a sensational mirror offence sequence. They do a top job wetting the appetite for their match in Boston the following weekend. KENTA and Hero start fighting on the floor as Edwards lifts Bryan out of the Triangle Choke into the powerbomb lungblower combo with Richards. Achilles Tendon Lock, a hold which has made Dragon tap in the past, locked in briefly. The heel team then take it in turns to victimise Dragon outside the ring, with Hero eventually crumpling him to the floor with a wicked elbow smash. Double Alarm Clock blocked though, and Bryan runs through Davey with a running enzi to make the hot tag to KENTA. EPIC KICK to the back of Edwards, then a combo of big boots in the corner to the other half of the tag champions. Go 2 Sleep countered, as is the DR Driver, so Richards rocks his former mentor with a handspring enzi. Tag to Hero who FLOORS him with another unbelievably brutal elbow. Death Blow is blocked, but he manages to land a Rolling Elbow instead to keep KENTA down. KENTA finally evades an elbow smash and gets a critical tag to Roderick. He lands a big chop on Hero who fires back with the Flash Kick. Back suplex pancake/missile dropkick combo from the Wolves gets 2. STANDING Shining Wizard then gets Eddie Edwards another close nearfall. Urinage backbreaker from Strong, into the Stronghold. Hero tries to save but is caught up KENTA and an octopus stretch. Strong goes for Death By Roderick only for Edwards to counter in mid-air with a rana. DOUBLE ALARM CLOCK! Hero in too…SUPERKICK/ROLLING ELBOW/GERMAN SUPLEX COMBO! DRAGON SAVES! All six men fight on the turnbuckles. SUPERPLEX BY STRONG! BACK SUPERPLEX BY DANIELSON! ROPE RUN FALCON ARROW BY KENTA! It’s Strong and Eddie in mid-ring dropping bombs on each other, Strong finally dropping Edwards with the Sick Kick, then the GIBSON DRIVER to score his biggest HDNet victory yet at 16:43
Rating - **** - The finish felt a little sudden, but the whole match leading up to it was non-stop awesome. And when I say non-stop, I really mean it. The pace in this one was totally frenetic, with absolutely no time to catch your breath or collect yourself. Outstanding workrate from all six men, all of whom have extensive experience working 15-minute, junior heavyweight trios tags like this in Japan, which really stood them in good stead
Kenny King vs Jerry Lynn (Episode 030)
Two weeks ago on HDNet the new team of Tyler Black and adversary-turned-mentor Jerry Lynn defeated the All Night Express of Kenny King and Rhett Titus in a decent tag team encounter. That was followed last week by Black impressively beating Rhett in a singles encounter. Tonight Jerry will look to complete the sweep with a singles win over the impressive and improving Kenny King.
Even opening segment, ending when Kenny shows some experience by going for a wild pescado. Jerry moves and leaves King to eat floor mat. Cannonball senton off the apron by Lynn to follow. King retorts by hurdling the ropes into a guillotine then starts choking him in the ropes. Shotgun Knees score for a 2-count, and he stays right on Jerry with the snap suplex into mounted elbows. He goes for the rope hurdle a second time, but this time Lynn blocks it and delivers the guillotine leg drop in the ropes. Springboard sunset bomb out of the corner just about connects for 2. There’s a chance Jerry is too old for that spot now. Cradle Piledriver countered with the Royal Flush. But Lynn blocks the Coronation…only to find Rhett Titus standing on the apron to stop him delivering the Cradle Piledriver again. King gets a cheap win by holding the ropes at 06:41
Rating - ** - The match was only average and the finish was absolutely terrible. I think this rating is actually a rather generous one. There were a few flashes of good stuff in this battle of age vs experience, but too much dead time and aimless spots in a sub-7 minute match.
Jerry isn’t happy and tries to fight off both ANX members. SPIKE PILEDRIVER ON LYNN! Horrific angle on that, and officials (including Adam Pearce) flock straight to the ring.
Austin Aries vs Bryan Danielson – ROH World Title Match (Episode 030)
Dragon, a man who carried the Ring Of Honor World Championship with honour and pride for well over a year during his reign, has taken exception to Austin Aries’ conduct since he won the belt for a second time. The fixed A-Double L-Double’s have not gone down well with the ‘Best In The World’ and even on his way out of ROH, he wants the opportunity to take the belt from a man he doesn’t feel is treating it with the reverence and prestige it deserves. This is a rematch from HDNet Episode 003 when Danielson pulled out the victory over Aries – who technically evened the score at Final Countdown Tour Chicago when he successfully defended the belt against Dragon.
The opening minutes are surprisingly quick, which favours the explosive, athletic Word Champion more than it does the challenger. But as soon as the match goes to the canvas it’s Dragon in the ascendancy, capturing Aries in an anklelock and forcing the champion to flee. Danielson gives chase, scoring with a FLYING KNEE STRIKE from the apron. Unhappy with that, Austin drops Danielson throat-first over the ropes, then delivers a hanging neckbreaker in them. A-Double starts working the neck hard, an obvious set up for all his finishers. Dragon Sleeper applied, only for Danielson to counter with a sleeper into a back suplex which leaves both men down. Sayama flip by Dragon, but Aries knows the running elbow strike normally follows that and he blocks it. FOREARM SMASH BLOCKS THE HEAT SEEKING MISSILE! But Aries can sense when the back superplex is coming, and manages to knock Bryan out of the ring…for the HEAT SEEKING MISSILE second time around. He hits a missile dropkick, then nips up a’la Bryan Danielson...only to be caught in a Triangle Choke. Brainbuster blocked…anklelock on the champion again! ROARING ELBOW! Austin staggered, but he rallies with the KICK OF DEATH! LAST CHANCERY! Bryan makes the ropes and draws the pop of the night from the fans. Unhappy with that, Aries exposes one of the metal turnbuckle bolts but eats a tiger suplex from the challenger before he can use it. Cattle Mutilation follows, but Aries escapes to deliver a NECK DROP shinbreak back suplex. IED COUNTERED BACK TO THE ANKLELOCK! ARIES KICKS HIM INTO THE EXPOSED TURNBUCKLE! IED NAILED! Aries barely escapes with his belt at 14:55…
Rating - **** - I will probably get some flack for over-rating this, but for a free TV main event I thought this was fantastic. They adapted their ‘DVD main event’ style, cutting it right down to a very crisp and concise 15 minutes of great wrestling. Aries worked the neck like a bastard, with Dragon hanging with him every step of the way thanks to his own obvious skills. There was all the usual familiarity countering we’re used to seeing from these long term rivals, and the sports entertainment finish was extremely well done, providing a believable, heel finish to the match and keeping Aries over as the chickensh*t heel champion we’re all coming to know and hate. Was this their best match together – probably not. But for ROH on HDNet and the product they need to present to make the show viable, and make the roster marketable television commodities, this was a SUPERB bout.
Chris Hero vs KENTA
These two have clashed in a number of tag matches now – each time engaging in some fiery exchanges – with Dave Prazak pointing out that these two carry an existing rivalry from wins and losses traded in Japan. KENTA has been hugely impressive on HDNet – so for Hero, who can already boast wins over Bryan Danielson and Lance Storm this year, it would be a major feather in his cap if he could best one of NOAH’s biggest stars here.
KENTA goes after the arm of Hero, possibly to negate the elbow threat but Hero is able to back him to the ropes. No clean break from Chris, instead dishing out a big chop. SLAPS by KENTA, then a volley of kicks which noticeably rattles the ‘Gaijin Godzilla’. Knees to the stomach next, even after Hero tries to rake his eyes. He seems set on working the midsection, dropping repeated elbow drops there before working a grounded bodyscissors. But he makes a critical mistake, looking for a big shoulder tackle to the stomach and winding up missing it and flying shoulder-first into the ringpost. There’s a section of fans in the crowd chanting for Eddie Kingston which is proof that that feud is getting over. Meanwhile KENTA manages to evade the Flash Kick baseball slide and dishes out some big kicks. REBOUND ELBOW SMASH OFF THE GUARDRAILS BY HERO! Back inside he floors KENTA again with a big elbow across the throat for 2. Out of nothing KENTA cranks up the pace, exploding with forearms and clotheslines, then a big boot to the face. Flying clothesline gets the NOAH star a nearfall. STF applied but Hero is a big guy to put that on. Instead he thinks about a Busaiku and gets clocked with another elbow strike. Stretch Plum by Hero, a move applied many times to KENTA’s mentor Kenta Kobashi over the course of his career. Go 2 Sleep blocked…elbow NO SOLD! Diving lariat by KENTA to leave both men down. YAKUZA KICK IN THE CORNER! HERO RESPONDS WITH THE SAME! YAKUZA KICK BY KENTA! CRAZY FLYING KICK IN THE CORNER! To the top rope…DOUBLE STOMP GETS 2! BUSAIKU KNEE! TWO AGAIN! Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Rey try to distract him as he lines up Go 2 Sleep. ROARING ELBOW! DEATH BLOW! KENTA KICKS OUT! Perplexed, Hero tries to steal Go 2 Sleep (well, if CM Punk can), and when KENTA fights out he flattens him again with an elbow strike. Loaded Elbow comes into play as Hagadorn distracts again. EDDIE KINGSTON RUNS IN AND STEALS IT! GO 2 SLEEEEEEEEEEP! KENTA scores the victory at 16:29
Rating - **** - This didn’t quite venture into MOTYC territory, with the early going being pretty much perfunctory stuff with 2 guys working body parts for no reason other than to waste time. But once they started lighting each other up with big strikes this one caught fire. The crowd was as loud for this as anything on HDNet thus far, creating a raucous atmosphere as these guys traded nearfalls. The finish was admittedly a little overbooked, but in an entertaining rather than a distasteful way. It allowed ROH to please the NOAH office by putting KENTA over again, but gives Hero enough of an out to save face, AND keeps that hot feud with Eddie Kingston going.
Tape Rating - *** - No MOTYC and a couple of strange match selections probably makes this the weakest of the three Best Of HDNet compilations thus far. It’s still terrific value with an awful lot of quality packed into one DVD. My biggest qualm is with the match selections on here. I’m not sure why things like King/Lynn, DCFC/Bucks or Briscoes/ANX were included ahead of matches like the Team Cabana vs Embassy Survivor Series style match on Episode 023, the inaugural A-Double L-Double, or the Honor Rumble from Episode 028. Still, if you’re an ROH enthusiast and you haven’t seen the shows this is still well worth picking up. The two KENTA matches are sensational, the Briscoes/Steen-erico match is wild plus two really solid Austin Aries main events. If you’re buying it, you won’t be disappointed I’m sure.
Top 3 Matches
3) Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Kevin Steen/El Generico (**** - Episode 025)
2) Bryan Danielson/Roderick Strong/KENTA vs Chris Hero/American Wolves (**** - Episode 026)
1) KENTA vs Chris Hero (**** - Episode 029)